Report 2009-107.2 Recommendation 2 Responses
Report 2009-107.2: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Inmates Sentenced Under the Three Strikes Law and a Small Number of Inmates Receiving Specialty Health Care Represent Significant Costs (Release Date: May 2010)
Recommendation #2 To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
To address the erroneous sentencing information and inappropriately assigned convictions in its data system, Corrections should create a schedule for regular checks of the accuracy of existing sentencing information, as well as the accuracy with which sentencing information has been assigned to convictions.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2015
The Case Records Administrator worked with SOMS to implement changes to the second striker credit earning formulas to address new statue rules. This is an ongoing maintenance activity that will be needed whenever statue or codes are revised to ensure the ongoing accuracy of sentencing information.This most recent example was completed in May 2014. Additionally, each offender is received into CDCR with a Commitment (Legal documents such as Abstract of Judgment, Minute Order, and/or Felony Compliant) at the time they are admitted. The first check is completed by a Case Records Analyst to ensure the sentencing information is accurate for the conviction. Each offender will have regular checks at specific audit time frames, which include transfer audits, 60-day audits, and parole audits. If a sentence is found to be inaccurate for a type of conviction, CDCR continues to refer those cases to the presiding court/judge for clarification.
- Completion Date: May 2014
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
Corrections provided documentation of the review it references in its update. It states that it will need to complete this activity whenever statute or codes are revised to ensure ongoing accuracy of sentencing information.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2014
The Case Records Administrator worked with SOMS to implement changes to the second striker credit earning formulas to address new statue rules. This is an ongoing maintenance activity that will be needed whenever statue or codes are revised to ensure the ongoing accuracy of sentencing information. This most recent example was completed in May 2014.
Additionally, each offender is received into CDCR with a Commitment (Legal documents such as Abstract of Judgment, Minute Order, and/or Felony Compliant) at the time they are admitted. The first check is completed by a Case Records Analyst to ensure the sentencing information is accurate for the conviction. Each offender will have regular checks at specific audit time frames, which include transfer audits, 60-day audits, and parole audits.
If a sentence is found to be inaccurate for a type of conviction, we continue to refer those cases to the presiding court/judge for clarification.
- Completion Date: May 2014
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented
Corrections states that the case records administrator worked with SOMS to implement changes to the second striker credit earning formulas to address new statute rules and that this is an ongoing maintenance activity that will be needed whenever statute or codes are revised to ensure the ongoing accuracy of sentencing information. Corrections indicates the most recent example was completed in May 2014. However, Corrections did not provide any documentation to substantiate its ongoing checks and reviews of the accuracy of existing sentencing information and reviews of the accuracy with which sentencing information has been assigned to convictions.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013
The OBIS Edit table has been replaced with the SOMS statute table; the table has been updated by correcting outdated information and adding new statute codes that were missing from the OBIS Edit table.
As part of the data conversion process, inaccurate data was identified and corrected prior to loading OBIS data into SOMS. A tremendous amount of testing was completed over a period of approximately six months to ensure results of the application were correct and could be relied upon.
Going forward, a Case Records Administrator has been assigned to complete at least an annual update to the statute table. The Case Records Administrator will be working with the SOMS team to add any new statute codes or amended statutes to the SOMS statute table.
Sentencing data continues to be checked on a regular basis during case records audits that occur throughout an offender's incarceration period (i.e., Intake, Transfer, 60-Day 10-Day prior to release). Additionally, monthly data quality reports will be generated on an ongoing basis for cleanup as needed in order to maintain the integrity of the offender sentencing data in the SOMS system.
- Completion Date: August 2013
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented
Corrections states that it has corrected the sentencing data and continues to check the accuracy on a regular basis during case records audits. It also states that monthly data quality reports will be generated on an ongoing basis to maintain the integrity of the sentencing data. However, Corrections did not provide documentation demonstrating that it has a schedule for regular checks of the accuracy of existing sentencing information and reviews of the accuracy with which sentencing information has been assigned to convictions.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2012
The recommendation was fully implemented in May 2011. A copy of our revised “OBIS Offense Edit Table Update Procedures were provided as an attachment to BSA in (Month/Year) and can be provided again upon request. The task of updating the offenses in our OBIS system was reassigned from the Legal Processing Unit Case Records Manager to a Case Records Administrator during that time. The system is updated at minimum twice a year. In addition, Case Records receives, on a regular basis, the Chaptered Legislative Report from CDCR's Office of Legal Affairs. This report is a tool to assist us in identifying new or amended statues that require an update to our OBIS Offense Edit Table
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
All Recommendations in 2009-107.2
Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.